Manchester hospitality pleads for customers to give notice as no-shows continue
The lifting of restrictions combined with good weather has resulted in high demand for tables since April 12. But some restaurant and bar owners have revealed that people are still failing to turn up for their bookings.
Restaurants in Greater Manchester are asking customers to cancel any reservations they can no longer make after reports of more no-shows happening across the city.
Hospitality launched the #NoMoreNoShows campaign last summer following the revelation that so many customers are abandoning pre-booked tables it’s costing the sector £16bn a year.
And the damaging habit has seemingly resurfaced following the reopening of outdoor venues in 2021.
The easing of restrictions combined with good weather has resulted in high demand for seats at bars and restaurants since April 12 – but owners have revealed that too many people are failing to turn up for their bookings.
Olivia Thornton Stubbs, Area Business Development Manager for San Carlo Group, said the number of no-shows on Sunday (April 26) had been “disheartening”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“People, please call restaurants to cancel,” she posted on Twitter.
“We’re working harder than ever to give you the best experience and this means we have to turn others away throughout the week who we’d absolutely love to fit in.”
Chief Executive of Gusto Matt Snell also spoke out last week, explaining that the Italian chain was seeing a high rate of cancellations on a daily basis – but this was “actually a good thing” as the empty covers could be replaced.
One Gusto restaurant, however, had seen 15% of covers failing to show without notice.
Snell explained: “We are having up to 40% of covers CANCEL each day. This is actually a good thing though as we are able to replace these covers. We still have a restaurant suffering up to 15% of covers no showing, despite all the checks we’ve put in place.
ADVERTISEMENT
“If you can’t make it, that’s fine. Just let us know.”
If you can't make it, that's fine. JUST LET US KNOW#nomorenoshows
Volta bar and restaurant on Burton Road in Didsbury also weighed in on the topic, stating the #NoMoreNoShows message “had never been more important”.
“Last week the hospitality industry saw lots of empty tables in the busiest (and arguably most important) week of the year for us and so many others,” bar reps stated.
“Let’s stop that.”
Restaurants right across the country have reported the same problem since reopening to the public two weeks ago.
ADVERTISEMENT
A small venue in the Wirral recently made regional headlines after announcing online that it could simply “not afford” any more empty tables, whilst another pub in Benfleet near Southend reported a staggering 60 no-shows in just two days.
The Bohemia in North Finchley said it had suffered 90 no-shows and last-minute cancellations on its first Friday back open since lockdown.
Some venues have now resorted to taking deposits from customers in an attempt to soften the financial impact caused by deserted tables.
The #NoMoreNoShows campaign encourages all customers to contact venues if they cannot make their reservation and rebook for a different time.
One of the early backers of the campaign, Abi Dunn at Sixty Eight People, has continued to emphasise to customers that “it’s ok to cancel.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“In no other area of business is it acceptable to renege on a contract in this way,” she stated.
“We have to change the way people behave and the notion that no shows are acceptable.
“Greater Manchester is a metropolis of bars, dining, coffee hang outs, gastronomic delights and nights to remember. Please help them all stay open!”
Featured image: Victor He / Unsplash
Food & Drink
Bangkok Diners Club moves out of Ancoats just months after Michelin Guide win
Daisy Jackson
Bangkok Diners Club, the critically-acclaimed restaurant above the Edinburgh Castle pub, has closed its restaurant space.
The Thai restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide last October, not long after taking over the upstairs of the popular pub.
It also received a rave review in The Guardian from restaurant critic Grace Dent, who said it would be ‘one of Manchester’s hottest dining tickets’.
But now Bangkok Diners Club has decided its time in Ancoats is up, and has closed its beautiful restaurant space with immediate effect.
In an email sent to customers with reservations, they wrote that Bangkok Diners Club ‘sadly won’t be returning to Edinburgh Castle’.
Owners and husband-and-wife team Ben and Bo Humpheys aren’t leaving things there though, announcing plans to move into the Exhibition food hall on Peter Street.
Co-owner Ben Humphreys outside Bangkok Diners Club. Credit: The Manc GroupThe food earned them a place in the Michelin Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
They’ll be joining MoreJoy and pasta concept Anatra in the space, but bidding farewell to their own dedicated restaurant for now.
The email sent to customers reads: “We have just noticed that the system has allowed you to make a reservation during a time that we are closed. We apologise that this has happened.
“Ben and Bo are cooking at Exhibition during 2026 and Bangkok Diners Club sadly won’t be returning to Edinburgh Castle.
“Sincerest apologies for all the inconvenience caused.”
Doux Chaton debuts in Manchester: Vietnamese and French cuisine meets the North West
Danny Jones
Regardless of our rivalry, the Scousers have given us a lot: The Beatles, two Premier League football clubs for us to get regularly riled up against, even the Bold Street brand – and now it’s the turn of Doux Chaton, who just landed in Manchester.
Vietnamese food right in the heart of town, but like you’ve never had it before, Doux Chaton is the Southeast Asian spot with a European twist that’s already turning heads.
In fact, despite quietly opening on the main Deansgate strip over the festive period, there was already plenty of passion for this place down the Mersey, as this Liverpool-founded business has developed a foodie favourite following here in the North West.
Run by owners Jimmy and Jennifer Ly, whose parents Ko and Linda moved to the UK back in the 70s, this place might be regionally born and bred, but it’s still deeply rooted in the rich heritage of two ex-pats helping bring some seriously incredible flavours to our shores.
Walking past the old unit on the ground floor of Great Northern Warehouse – during a real ghost town period for the city centre this past Christmas – we saw a team hard at work putting together their first Manc venue.
This was at around 10/11pm from memory, as we saw a man on ladders finishing the hand-lettered sign by lamplight; this is all relevant because, before anything, it’s worth noting that this place from 9am until 9pm all week round.
Yes, as in every single day.
Since they’re still relative newcomers, we’re not entirely sure when they take any time (if, indeed, they do at all), but one thing we can already vouch for is that hard work can well and truly be tasted in the food and drink they put out.
Expanding their traditional Vietnamese menu in Merseyside, Doux Chaton Deansgate has seen them create a whole new selection of sweet treats, doubling not only as a neo-French patisserie but as a platform to showcase both traditional and modern bakes from their home country.
There is a long history of their national cuisine being deeply influenced by the classical culinary culture in France, but when we tell you their bahn mi sandwiches and clever take on a sausage ‘pho’roll were even tastier than their decadent croque monsieur croissant, you know you’re on to something special.
And then there are the bowls of broth and noodles themselves; we tried plenty of pho in and around Greater Manchester, with plenty purporting to be ‘authentic’ – and many of them are – but there can be a question about this first and second generation team.
Taking ‘Mama Hong’s treasured recipes from the streets of Hanoi and elevating them ever so slightly in certain spots, whilst still letting the flavours, textures and smells speak for themselves, it’s comfortably some of the best Viet scran we’ve had in these parts.
The cute little cat in a bowl logo almost feels like the most warm and fitting welcome you could hope for.
Service with a smile, simply fantastic food, a bloody GREAT cup of stylish drip coffee and a big chalkboard where you can even leave your own message, not to mention unrelenting opening hours – this could be our new go-to at any given time of day.
The Manc -
26th April 2021 
